


We Have Liftoff

by Toast_Senpai



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - School, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-14
Updated: 2011-07-14
Packaged: 2017-11-17 10:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/550409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toast_Senpai/pseuds/Toast_Senpai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur watches Alfred in a school play. Francis watches Mathew in the same school play. Unfortunately, they sit next to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Have Liftoff

The stage had taken all morning to set up, but it was perfect. Alfred had helped put the black paper with shiny stars, and he was proud of it. He would have also helped with the hanging things, but the big kids got to do that. The gloves he wore were a little hot, but he was excited. This was his first school play. Better yet, Arthur was out there. This was gonna be great!

"Okay kids! Get where you are suppose to be. The curtain is going to open soon!"

Alfred shuffled to the front, right behind the curtain. He reached out and ran a gloved hand down the red cloth. He wished he could feel how soft the knew it was. Alfred tipped his head back and looked for Mathew. When he saw his brother in the far back corner he smiled. He was happy Mathew had gotten a role, even though it was a small one.

The lights dimmed. Alfred faced forward and set his hands on his hips. He put on a straight face. Time to shine.

* * *

"I told you we should have left sooner! We are going to be late because you of."

"Silly Arthur. We will be _fashionably late_. There is a difference between that and just being plain late. When we arrive, everyone-"

"I don't care! Alfred will think I didn't want to see him. Same goes for you with Mathew."

Francis quickened his pace. Arthur, for once, had made a good point. They hurried into the school and located the gymnasium with ease. Good, the lights were dimmed, but nothing had started yet.

Arthur and Francis found a pair of available seats at the front where parents of the students in the play could sit. They had gotten there just in time. The intercom crackled and came to life with the voice of the principal.

"Hello everyone and welcome to this years school play put on by our fifth graders! Prepare for lift off because we are heading into space!"

The sound of the curtain opening reached Francis and Arthur's ears as they tried to make out the child on stage. Arthur noticed that he had a smile on. Huh. He must have been excited for this. It _was_ all Alfred had been talking about.

Then there was light. A single spot light focused on the kid in front. He was wearing a white shirt and pants, black gloves and shoes, and had a plastic bowl over his head. Arthur was worried for a second about Alfred getting air, but then noticed that there was a circle cut out so that you could see his face more clearly.

Alfred saluted the crowd before giving a thumbs up.

"Thank you all for joining me in space! My mission is to learn about all the different planets! Let's go!"

Alfred turned around and headed for the back of the stage. He went behind Mathew and gave him a little push, bringing him out in front of the audience. He looked positively terrified, and Arthur felt for him. He had never been a people person. Alfred circled Mathew once before standing to his side.

"I found a planet! What one are you?"

Mathew bit his lip and glanced out at the sea of people. He spotted Francis and gained a little courage from the man's smile.

"I-I'm Pluto….The smallest planet in the solar system…"

Spaceman Alfred smiled and went around to Mathew's other side.

"What else can you tell me?"

Mathew looked lost for a second before remembering what he was suppose to say.

"I have t-three moons…and it can get to below three hundred ninety degrees Fahrenheit." He tried to speak loud, hoping everyone could hear him.

Francis wanted to hug his boy. He was doing such a great job! France tipped his head close to Arthur's.

"That's Mathew for you. He's such an amazing actor. I hope he goes into the film industry when he's older. He would be perfect."

Arthur tried to scoot away from Francis. He didn't really care what the man had to say. He wanted to listen to the boys on stage. Especially Alfred, who was doing the best job, by the way.

Alfred shook Mathew's hand before moving in front of him. While Pluto waddled away, Alfred acted like he was in a space ship, looking around wildly for another planet. Then there was a blob of blue as a planet came into view. Alfred went to it and smiled.

"Another planet! Who are you?"

Ludwig tried to look happy. It was hard. The planet outfit, which was pretty much a blue garbage bag cut into a circle, was getting warm.

"I'm Neptune, forth largest planet. I have really strong winds, thirteen moons, and five main rings." There, all his lines were done. Alfred laughed and yelled about how cool he was before zooming around the stage again.

Arthur thought that the play was interesting. He was learning some things about the planets that he hadn't known before. Alfred was doing an amazing job too. He looked so cute as a little astronaut. Then France got close to his ear _once again._

"That boy, the Neptune, do you know him? He looks very familiar, but I can't think of his name…. He has a deep voice for being only ten. Unless he looks older? Maybe he was held back…"

Arthur rolled his eyes. This was why he never went anywhere with Francis. He was annoying and such a gossiper. Arthur wished he hadn't sat next to him. He scanned the crowd for an empty seat, but saw none. Great, he was stuck next to a babbling imbecile for the rest of the play.

As Neptune left, another blue planet came into view and Alfred skipped up to it.

"Hello there! Can you tell me who you are?"

Lovino frowned. He hated being the planet that everyone laughed at. Why couldn't he be something cool like his brother? No, he was…

"Uranus…" Lovino didn't say it too loud, but there were some laughs. His face turned red and he really _really_ didn't want to do this stupid play anymore! He thought about running off stage, but then Alfred put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.

"You're doing great!" He whispered. That was… nice of him. Lovino took a breath.

"I have twenty-seven moons and thirteen rings. I'm named after the Roman God of the sky."

Alfred looked amazed. He put on his best hero smile and punched the air.

"That's awesome! Such a cool planet!"

Lovino huffed and scurried off that stage as fast as he could. It was over for him, thankfully.

Arthur didn't get why some people had laughed at the name, it sounded like a regular planet name to him… Francis tapped him on the knee. Arthur flicked his eyes to the man.

"I feel sorry for that boy. Having to play Uranus. Children now a days can find the naughty words in everything. I can't wait for Mathew to start finding them!"

Arthur didn't really understand, but he didn't care. Francis needed to shut up! Arthur shushed him and Francis looked appalled by Arthur's shushing, but he did close his mouth and sit back to watch the play.

The next planet twirled out onto stage, grinned at the crowd. He had to keep his arms up as to not squish his rings. Alfred came over to him, looking him over closely.

"These rings are amazing. What planet are you?"

Antonio kept up his fierce smile. "I'm Saturn of course! Sixth planet from the Sun with sixty two moons and rings made of mainly ice water! Also, I'm the most famous."

Alfred laughed along with Antonio. Arthur thought it adorable. He loved Alfred's laugh, and that Spanish boy was a great kid. Just while Arthur was starting to enjoy it even more, Francis 'psst' at him.

"That boy, Antonio. I have babysat him before. He is such a sweetheart. Always helps me with the dishes and cleaning up. Has he ever been to your house?"

Arthur's eye twitched. He didn't _care_ what Francis had to say. To answer his question, no, Antonio had never been over. He said all this to Francis with a glare on his face. The Frenchman didn't seem to mind the look though. He just turned his eyes to the stage once more. Arthur wanted to beat his froggy head in.

After Saturn was gone, Alfred stood in the middle of the stage. He looked around, back and forth, but saw no one. He shrugged and moved forward.

"I thought there was another planet around here somewhere…"

Then, said planet appeared. It was pretty big too. Alfred turned to it and grinned.

"There you are! State your name!"

Ivan smiled. This was such a stupid play. He hated the planets and space and everything that came with it. But it was fitting that he got to be the largest of them all.

"Who else would I be but Jupiter? Biggest planet with sixty-three moons. If you weigh one hundred pounds on Earth, you would be two hundred and thirty four here. Massive, huh?"

Alfred tried to keep a happy face, but Ivan was scary. He looked to the audience and spotted Arthur looking at him. He wanted to wave, but he didn't. He had a play to put on!

Francis couldn't help himself. He knew all the gossip and needed to tell it to someone _now_.

"Arthur…That boy there, he only has two sisters caring for him. I wonder what happened to his parents? I heard someone say that they were still in Russia. Maybe they got dealings with the mafia there and are in too much trouble to come here?"

"…You hear that? …. That's the sound of me not caring. Now shut up you fool. The play is halfway over. I don't want to hear you speak again!" Arthur kept his voice low, but looked right at Francis to make sure he got it. The man pouted and shifted away from Arthur. What a party pooper.

Alfred watched Jupiter go and waited for the next planet to come. This time, it was a bright red one. The planet tiptoed up behind Alfred and tapped him on the back. When Alfred looked at him, the planet smiled lightly.

"Greetings from Mars, spaceman."

Yao added that part. He didn't really like the lines he was given, so he decided to use his own while still keeping the facts. Alfred looked a little confused before he went with it.

"Hey! I think I have seen you before."

Yao nodded. "Yes, a lot of your explorers have visited me and asked many questions. In short, I'm the red planet. I have two small moons and the highest temperature it gets here is zero degrees." He was _so_ good.

Alfred nodded excitedly and shook Yao's hand. "It was nice to meet you again!"

The planet spun off, instantly replaced by another, extremely familiar planet. Alfred smiled brightly and tackled the planet in a hug.

"I know you! You're Earth!"

Gilbert pushed the kid off of him, quickly checking over his outfit. He spent hours making it look awesome and he wasn't going to have that stupid Alfred ruin it. Gilbert put his hands on his hips and walked forward, proud smirk in place.

"Of course I'm Earth! Who else would I be? Only here can you breath oxygen, drink water, and be alive! Haha, the most awesome planet _ever._ Been around for about 4.54 billion years! Pretty sweet huh?"

Alfred wanted to get in a tussle with Gilbert (he usually did, every day at school) but let his obnoxiousness slid, for the time being. Instead, he just slapped him hard on the back.

"Yea, you are awesome! But I still have a few planets left to find, so you better go!"

Okay, Francis couldn't resist. He knew all about Gilbert. That boy was horrible, but he wished he was his own. Not that he would ever give up his boy, he just wished Mathew would be a little like Gilbert. Francis looked at Arthur and saw that he was smiling. It wasn't that much of a rare site to see, but it was still nice. Maybe he could keep his mouth closed, just for a little longer…

Gilbert sauntered off while Alfred struck a hero pose and double thumbed up the audience.

"If I'm right, there are two planets left! I wonder who is next?"

Alfred turned in time to see a bubbly planet skip over to him. The boy stopped once he was at Alfred and let out a laugh. Alfred had always liked this kid, he was so funny!

"I think I know who you are. Are you Venus?"

"That's right! Named after the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty herself~ I'm one of the brightest things in the sky! But it's sad, I have no moons~ Good thing the Sun is close and keeps me warm!" Feliciano knew his lines by heart. He had gotten Ludwig to help him until he had perfected it.

Waving goodbye as Venus floated off, Alfred once again turned back to the crowd. He looked particularly at Arthur though.

"Our journey is almost over folks! There is just one more planet I have to visit…"

Said planet attentively came onto the stage. He was a little smaller than Alfred. The boy had to tilt his head a bit to look at Alfred's face.

"Hello astronaut. I am Mercury."

Alfred's face lit up. "Hey there! Want to tell me some things about yourself?"

"Well, there is no atmosphere or moons here. I'm know as a terrestrial planet, because there is seventy percent metallic and thirty percent silicate material. I may be the closest to the sun, but I am not the hottest."

Waiting for a response, Kiku stared out at the audience. He had learned a lot by doing this play. It was fun too.

"That's cool Mercury!"

That was everyone's signal.

Alfred stepped up to the front of the stage as all the planets lined up behind him. Arthur wondered what they were going to do. Maybe take a bow? He watched as all the planets behind Alfred held hands. Then, Alfred belted out a few sentences about traveling through space.

Oh… they were going to sing.

Arthur knew Alfred couldn't sing _at all_ , but it was nice that he was trying. The other kids joined him as they went through the plants and it was all very cute. Then, when they were done, everyone bowed and the curtain fell. A minute later the lights came on, causing Arthur and Francis to squint, waiting for their eyes to adjust.

Francis could take the silence no more.

"That was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen! My Mathew did such a fine job! We are going to get ice-cream after this. Do you wish to come with Arthur?"

Arthur didn't get to answer. The curtain rose once again and the kids on stage took a second bow and the audience clapped and cheered wildly. Arthur kept himself proper while Francis shouted out Mathew's name. The boy turned a little red and tried to hide his face.

Since it was over, everyone started to stand up, stretching and heading for the exit. Alfred and grabbed Mathew's hand and led him to the front of the stage where Arthur and Francis were waiting. Each man took their boy and placed them on the ground. Alfred was buzzing with excitement.

"Did you like it? Was I good? It was so much fun!"

Arthur laughed and nodded. "Yes, it was the most splendid performance I have ever seen." Alfred hugged him before trying to pull him to the exit.

"What's the hurry Alfred?"

The boy was determined. He knew what he had heard. "Francis said they were getting ice-cream! I want to beat them to Dairy Queen!"

Arthur let out another laugh. That was Alfred for you. "Okay. Let's hurry then. Francis is pretty fast."

Francis smiled and picked up Mathew. "Yes, the fastest there is. No way you two are going to beat us!"

Arthur held Alfred's hand tight as to not lose him. He could tell Francis was falling back a little on purpose. But then he would always catch up again to keep it fair. Mathew looked like he was having a great time riding on his papa's shoulders.

It was only a race to the car though, because Francis and Arthur had come together. They ended up tying (because of the crowd, they couldn't go too fast) and made it Dairy Queen in record time. The boys refused to change out of their costumes though (Alfred's was fine, but Mathew was a little embarrassing to be seen with).

Francis was in a pretty high spirits and decided that he would pay for everyone. Arthur thought that… generous of him. He wondered why Francis was in such a good mood. Then it occurred to him that he too was in a great mood. Probably because Alfred had made him so proud.

As Alfred inhaled his sprinkle cone he couldn't help smiling. Arthur found himself wanting to smile along with the boy. For some reason, Alfred tried to hug him any chance he got. But it was okay. Arthur was fine with that.

**Author's Note:**

> All the planet facts can be found at planet-facts dot com. I remember using that website for my school project on Saturn, very informational place.


End file.
